Reality
by notaghost
Summary: Sam Manson is the only person in her town who believes in ghosts, but after going into an abandoned building she meets a boy who looks suspiciously similar to an apparition. The thing is, he seems convinced that she's a ghost too. When they find out Clockwork's involved will they be able to discover the rest of the truth, or will it end up doing much more damage than they intended?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

_Destruction. _

_ Fear._

_ Chaos._

_ It filled the air as the screams of innocent people disappeared, leaving only the eerie sound of a fire burning somewhere in the background. The streets were quickly emptied; the one's who managed to survive running back to safety, not caring for anyone but themselves. _

_ On top of a pile of rubble stood a man with blue skin and white hair that looked as though it were aflame. His mouth was twisted up into a grotesque smile as his red eyes glinted dangerously. His gloved hands were placed on his hips as he observed the scene before him like an artist might admire his artwork._

_ It was almost over. Half of his plan had been executed perfectly, and now all he needed was to carry out the rest. It hadn't even taken that much to drive those stupid humans out of their homes. Had taken even less to kill the ones that tried to fight him. Honestly, the lack of challenge was a bit disappointing, but no matter. Perhaps the second attack would prove to be a little more exciting. This time he had to get through a ghost shield after all. _

_ Without warning, the ghost turned around, eyeing one of the buildings with annoyance marring his face. There was most definitely a sound coming from inside. A loud, high pitched wail that continuously pierced the air without rest.. _

_ Wanting to get rid of the bothersome racket he flew into the building, shattering the objects around him simply because he could. _

_ "Ah," The ghost said on spotting the source of the wailing. It was an infant. How cute. "So you were the one giving me that headache, weren't you?" His red eyes seemed to glow brighter, fed with the excitement of what he was about to do. Every step forward seemed to increase the baby's cries and he grinned in satisfaction._

_ "Sh…" he told the infant, placing a finger gently over its mouth. "Don't cry. It's annoying." His arm moved down until his hand wrapped around the baby's neck. "It'll all be over soon." He began to squeeze, increasing the pressure whenever he felt like it and slowly the infants cries quieted as it's eyes closed shut. _

_ "Much better." He whispered to himself. He wiped his hands on his pants as though he had just touched something disgusting and turned around, walking toward the entrance of the building. The song he hummed echoed throughout the room as he headed towards the green dome that lay a few miles away._

_ Now was the fun part_

Clockwork sighed as he turned away from the scene playing out before him. His face remained passive as always but his mind raced with a million possibilities.

_ How could this have happened? _This shouldn't b epart of the time stream, this man shouldn't exist at all and yet there he was, twenty two years in the future.

There must be something else…some other event that set this off. There was no ghost in existence that was this powerful.

Not for now, anyway.

He turned back to the screen right when the image changed, this time his eyes coming across three teenagers having a conversation.

"_My parents could be back any minute." A black haired boy says, a worried look in his blue eyes. "Besides," he continues. "They say it doesn't work anyway."_

"_Come on, Danny. A Ghost Zone? Aren't you curious?" the female in front of him says, excitement flashing in her eyes. "You gotta check it out." She urges him._

_Danny walks closer to the portal, peering inside with fear and curiosity. "You know what? You're right. Who knows what kind of awesome, super cool things exist on the other side of that portal?" Now the fear has gone from his eyes and he pulls a white suit over his clothes, no hesitation at all in his actions. _

_The female walks closer to him with a frown on her face. She looks at the suit for a moment before ripping off the emblem stuck to the front. _

_Danny turns to the portal now, his eyes darting from place to place as they take in the detail on the inside of the portal. Without realizing it, his hands graze the wall next to him and only a small click is heard before the sounds of screams replace it. _

_Electricity pours into the boy's body as light fills the entire room. His friends stand there in shock, not knowing what to do or how to help him._

_After what seems like an eternity to the teenagers the light fades away. The smell of burning flesh fills the room as Danny grabs onto the framework of the portal for support, obviously still in pain._

_But something has changed. Gone is the human boy with pitch black hair and piercing blue eyes._

_Instead, in his place, stands a ghost._

That was how it started. That was the event that kick-started what was to be the destruction of Amity Park. Clockwork had the information. Now all he needed to do was twist it to his advantage. Make it so that this boy never becomes a ghost.

The girl. Samantha Manson. She was the reason for this. It was her encouragement that caused him to go in there and now something had to be done. Harming the girl would be out of line. No matter what her actions she was still innocent but still something had to be done to keep this situation from happening.

Perhaps if the two had never met…

Yes, of course. That was the solution to this problem.

Clockwork glanced up at one of the ticking clocks on his wall before his eyes flicked back toward the screen. This was twelve years from the future. Dan's appearance was twenty two. All he had to do was place Samantha in a different place.

Not a different time period. That would mess up the time stream and possibly cause even more damage. No, he had to put her into a different reality altogether. One where Danny didn't exist. One where _ghosts _didn't exist. It was the only solution. He would try to keep her life as similar as possible—he held no ill will towards the girl—and she would grow up not knowing the existence of Danny.

The screen that had been blank for a few minutes now cut to yet another image, this time the present. Here, a small baby cried unhappily to an empty room, with no one there to take care of it. Samantha Manson was two years old here.

Yes, this would work. If he took her now she would have no memory of this reality. Plus, Daniel and her had yet to even come into contact with each other.

Satisfied now with his new plan he lifted the hood of his cloak, covering his face as he turned from an adolescent to a child and disappeared, only to reappear once again in a new location. The sound of an infants crying filled his ears as he turned to the source of the noise, smiling kindly at the sight before him. Samantha Manson lay in a cradle, her crying now reduced to small sniffles as she drifted off to sleep. The room looked much too large, filled with only a few pieces of expensive and almost unused furniture.

Slowly, so as not to wake the infant, he reached out his arms and cradled her in them, whispering a soft apology to the parents of this child before he was gone again, this time to a place that no amount of searching from a human would reveal.

**I'm back! So I'm actually planning on having this story be multiple chapters despite my thinking that I would be writing oneshots for the rest of my life lol. Just like the oneshot I wrote before I actually haven't edited this at all because I'm lazy but I will be putting more effort into the other chapters. (I just wanted to get something out there) So tell me what you think (I'm open to constructive criticism) and I'll try to get another chapter up as soon as possible :)**


	2. Freak

Sam walked through the halls, barely aware of the indiscreet sneers that people directed at her as she passed them. She wanted to roll her eyes at them, but also knew that if she did someone would end up using it as an excuse to try and start a fight with her. She'd long since given up on trying to make friends, and instead focused her time on getting good grades. That way she could finally move to a good out of state college and away from all of these people.

She stopped at her locker and quickly fixed her purple lipstick in the small mirror hanging inside. Then she grabbed her books and headed outside, where her dad waited in his car.

"Hey, Dad." Sam greeted as she slid in next to her father and placed her bag on her lap.

"Hey, sweetie." Her father smiled at her as he started to move out of his parking spot. "How was school today?"

"It was okay," came her generic reply. She never went into details with her school life when it came to her parents. They didn't pry much either, knowing that she liked her privacy and as long as she was getting good grades, they figured there was nothing to worry about.

Sam wanted to keep it that way. They didn't know that those few times she went to 'hang out with her friends' she was really just going out for a run.

Her parents had always been okay with the decisions that she made regarding herself. They figured that as long as it made her happy, there was no harm, and although she was extremely grateful for this she had to admit that these decisions had been the reasons why she didn't have any friends. When she came to school dressed in all black, with purple lipstick and heavy eyeliner she had been called a whore. When she decided that she wanted to be vegan they pushed meat in front of her face and tried to get her to eat it.

When she expressed her belief in ghosts, they just laughed at her.

It was funny; when she was little Sam always thought that the rich ones, like herself, would always end up being popular. She used to imagine herself having a big group of friends that would go to the mall with her and have sleepovers. Everyone would like her and she'd be happy,

But right before high school started she had decided that she wanted to change a little. Express herself a little more. So she started out with slowly switching out the things in her wardrobe, making sure not to spend too much money at one time. Once she was happy with that she started to wear makeup, started listening to different music.

Her friends started looking at her differently too. They started looking more and more uncomfortable around her, always changing the subject when she wanted to talk about ghosts until they just started avoiding her completely.

_She's an adopted child, _she had heard a woman say to her friends, _Must have some mental problems. You know how it is._

While it made her sad that she had just lost all her friends, in a way, it also made her all the more determined to find someone who would be willing to accept her for the way that she looked.

"Hey, dad," she said as the blond haired man drove the car into their garage. "I think I'm going to go over to my friends house tonight."

"Again?" he turned to look at her. "You know you've been going out quite a lot these past few days, Sammie. Maybe you should invite your friends over here for once. It'd be rude if you just kept going over to theirs."

"Oh, um," Shoot. "My friends parents are really strict. I haven't known her for that long, so they aren't letting her come over here yet. Maybe soon though."

"Well, all right…" he said, sounding uncertain as they both got out of the car and entered the large house.

"I am. Thanks, Dad!" she gave him a brief hug before heading up to her room and closing the door. Sam felt bad for constantly lying to her parents, but she couldn't help it. Besides, if they knew they would never let her go out to the place she had been visiting lately.

The black haired girl unlaced her combat boots and fell back onto her bed, closing her eyes for a few minutes before sitting back up. She reached for a small scrapbook and flipped through it, looking through the small newspaper clippings and Internet articles that claimed ghosts were real. She had to admit that most of them seemed pretty fake, but others were more believable.

"I don't know why no one will believe me. I'm sure you guys exist." She said to herself.

A few minutes passed before she finally forced herself out of bed and laced up her combat boots again. She made sure to make a small list of the homework she had to do over the weekend before heading out, shouting a hasty goodbye to her dad and her mother who had come home minutes before she left.

Sam walked at a brisk pace for a few minutes before breaking out in a full sprint. It wasn't that she was so excited that she had to get there as soon as possible—in fact, she had been there so many times before that this had become more of a regular thing for her—but she figured she might as well get some exercise while she was at it. Of course, combat boots were not the best things to be running in, but she could deal with it.

After about twenty minutes of running she slowed down to a walk, making sure not to trip as the roads began to get more dangerous due to lack of maintenance. Even the sidewalks were dirtier, littered with trash. There were few houses here, none of which were legally occupied. The town had practically disowned this part of the area, and most people refused to even acknowledge that it existed.

It looked like a very dangerous place, and the small noises that were caused by trash or animals made it feel like a dangerous place as well, but Sam continued walking.

Finally, she reached her destination. Sam looked up at the red-brick building that towered in front of her with a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. For some reason it always looked like the house was fading in and out of focus to her, which was odd, but she didn't think too much into it. Attached to the house was what used to be small letters, but she couldn't really make out what they spelt, and then further above that was a large metal structure, with foreign contraptions fastened all around the sides of it.

Sam walked forward, grabbing the doorknob and shaking it a little before pushing it forward. It moved easily, as though welcoming her in. There were no working lights, but there was still enough sunlight that she could see easily. First she wandered through the kitchen, examining the smallest things for any kind of changes from the last time she was here.

She peered over into the sink, and after a moment of looking, grinned. There were dirt plates in the sink, half submerged in water. This had not been there the last time she had visited. Most people would have just assumed that someone without a home had wandered in and used the facilities there, and then left. But Sam didn't. She had been exploring this house for over two weeks now and knew for a fact that the water didn't work here. There was no way just anyone could have wandered in and turned on the tap. The gas didn't work either, and they couldn't have cooked food without getting the stove to work

This wasn't the only thing that had made her excited.

A couple days ago she had gone looking through some records from years ago, when people still lived in this area and tried to find proof that this house existed. She had managed to find an article about a fire that had happened very close to this house. Not a word had been said about it or anyone who could have lived in it and been affected.

She wandered into the basement, thinking about these things. Of course she would never share this information with anyone else, especially since there was no one she could share it with, but this place had become something of an escape for her. Although it wasn't the cleanest, and it certainly could be scary, it was the only place that seemed to support her beliefs.

As she entered the room her eyes immediately went to the large hexagonal shape that was planted into the wall across from her. It looked like a door, or at least something that could open up, but whenever she tried to find something that would open it, or tried to open it herself, her efforts were met with nothing.

She looked away from it, instead going toward the table that lined the wall to the right. Despite it not being in use, it never had a spot of dust on it.

Suddenly, she turned around as she felt her heart accelerate, almost expecting to see someone or something there but instead was met with nothing.

"I think I'm getting paranoid," she muttered to herself.

"Woah, um, who are you?"

"Gah!" She turned around yet again, this time finding a pair of bright blue eyes staring at her in confusion. His hands were drifting closer to what looked like a metallic thermos that lay on the table. Sam hadn't noticed that before.

"What do you mean, who am I?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "You can't just pop in here out of nowhere like that! Who are you?" she tried to slow her heartbeat down as she glared at him, placing her hands on her hips.

"This is actually kind of my basement." The boy in front of her said, clearly amused. "So if there's anyone 'popping out of no where' I'm pretty sure it would be you. You weren't here the last time I checked."

"Your basement?" she repeated, her eyes widening slightly. "So, you're a ghost then?"

"What?" he said immediately, looking down at himself as though shocked by this odd question. He looked back up at her with an alarmed expression. "No. Why would you think I'm ghost?" the boy laughed nervously, a piece of black hair falling into his eyes. "That's ridiculous, I'm not a ghost."

Sam narrowed her eyes at him even more, taking this time to look him over. He was dressed casually, in jeans and a shirt that looked just a little bit too big for him. The thing that struck her as odd though was the way that he went in and out of focus. It looked like he was about to fade away at any moment, and his voice sounded almost distant, like he was talking to her from far away. "Of course you're a ghost," she protested. "You keep fading in and out. Humans don't do that."

"I'm not fading in and out, you are." He argued, looking at her like she was the crazy one. "Besides, like I said before, this is _my house._" The boy waved his arms around like that would somehow make her understand. "I've never met a ghost who didn't think they were a ghost before, but you obviously came from there," he pointed toward the hexagonal door in the wall. "So you have to go back."

She scoffed. "Except I didn't come from there? I came from the front door. You know, like normal people? Besides, if this is your house how come I haven't seen you here the entire time that I've been here?"

"You know what," he sighed, "I have homework to do. I doubt you're going to go in yourself so," he grabbed the thermos and opened it. "I guess we'll just have to do it this way."

Now it was Sam's turn to look at him weird. She almost wanted to burst out laughing. There was a ghost right in front of her, and she was arguing with it. Not to mention it thought that she was the ghost and now it looked like he was about to try and capture with a soup container.

She almost wanted to laugh.

Instead, she waited, foot tapping slowly onto the cold floor as he pointed the thermos at her, grinning triumphantly. "In you go~" he practically sang.

Two seconds passed.

Five seconds,

Fifteen.

A minute.

Nothing happened.

Sam smirked at him, even letting out a little laugh as he looked down at the thermos with a dumbfounded expression, shaking it slightly.

"Why isn't it working?" he asked in a frustrated tone.

"Because, it's a soup container?" she offered, and he scowled at her.

"But this thing was working this morning, I even caught the box ghost with it!" his voice sounded like it was getting more and more distant the angrier he got.

She turned away from him, shoulders shaking as she tried to hold in her laughter. "You know," Sam laughed. "I always known that ghosts exist, but I didn't expect them to be so _weird_."

She turned back around, grinning as she wondered just what this strange apparition would do next.

And was met with nothing.

The space that was previously occupied by a teenage boy was now gone, looking as though he had never been there at all.

"Hello?" she called out, wondering if he had disappeared on purpose. "Hello?" nothing. Her voice echoed through the empty room, leaving an odd feeling in her stomach.

She felt like she had to leave. Immediately.

So she did.

**That took a lot longer than I thought it would haha. I'll try my best to update sooner next time. Was it boring? Tell me what you think! Reviews motivate me c:**


End file.
